Friday, 14 February 2014

Allardyce Repaying Faith

Following a 5-0
dismantling in the F.A. cup by Nottingham Forrest and a 9-0 drubbing in the
League Cup by Man City the pressure was well and truly on Sam Allardyce,
however West Ham stuck by their manager and their recent results are paying
dividends.

West Ham are now
undefeated in their last four Premier League matches since the defeat at the
hands of Newcastle and Yohan Cabaye, which seems like an eternity ago. In the process they’ve accrued 10 of a
possible 12 points and conceded no goals. The run began with an impressive rear
guard action in the 0-0 away at Chelsea and has been followed up by three
successive 2-0 wins against Swansea, Villa and Norwich.

West Ham now sit
in 11th place, although they are just 4 points above the relegation
zone, as is the congestion this season. However, similar performances to those
in recent weeks should soon dispel rumours of relegation and ensure job
security for Big Sam.

The defensive
performances have been aided by the fact that Allardyce has been able to select
the same back four in each of the games, Demel, Tomkins, Collins and McCartney.
These were players who were missing when West Ham were on their poor run of
form.

Collins has been
a rock at the heart of the West Ham defence, he’s made the most clearances of
any player in the past four games, an average of 17.5 per game. He’s also been
making an average of 2 tackles and winning 4 headers per game.

Goalkeeper Adrián deserves praise too, he’s now kept 5 clean
sheets in 8 Premier League appearances. In the 8 games he’s played he’s only
conceded 9 Premier League goals (although on each occasion he’s conceded he’s
let in 3 and he conceded 6 against Manchester City in the League Cup). He’s
doing well enough to keep an experienced keeper like Jaaskelinen out, which
says a lot about the level at which he is playing.

Of the 6 goals
West Ham have scored in the last four games, Kevin Nolan has managed to score
4. The performances have been Nolan back to his best, real captain’s
performances, Nolan has atoned for the red card and suspension he received for
a petulant kick against Fulham. Goals have been something of an issue for the
Hammers all season so it’s important that players like Nolan contribute.

Nolan’s been
putting in shifts defensively as well, against Swansea he made 7 tackles,
disrupting their play from further up the pitch. Mark Noble has been consistent
as always, creating 7 chances in the four games. Defensively he has been solid
too, making an average of 3.5 tackles per game.

Andy Carroll’s
return has had some impact on West Ham’s recent form, he provided 2 assists
against Swansea, before being sent off. Carroll proved he was back to near his
best winning 10 headers in both the 64 minutes he played against Chelsea and
the 59 minutes he played against Swansea. Although, the red card is an issue it
shows that the aggression is back in his game.

The Nolan-Carroll
partnership is one that will be key to West Ham staying up this season, it’s
one that was effective at Newcastle and reuniting the pair looks to be a good
move by Allardyce. They feed off each other well, with Carroll occupying the
defenders, leaving space for Nolan to do what he does best.

West Ham now have
a short break due to their F.A. cup exit and next up face Southampton at the
Boleyn ground. It’ll be a close fought game, but if West Ham can produce their
best they can push Southampton all the way.